i took the bus to belmont since it'd be raining later today. i ate a pineapple cake while walking down to harvard square. the last time i rode the bus was back in may, so i didn't know they moved the 73 bus stop in june due to station renovation. now the new stop is right outside the post office. it's not bad on a nice day like this morning, but it's going to suck when the weather's terrible, since there's not even a kiosk. the repairs also seemed open-ended, with no mention of finish date. the only info i could find was online, saying they'd scheduled the construction "to avoid winter weather" but with no end date. knowing how long it normally takes any civic projects to get done, i wouldn't be surprised if it takes years to complete.

i came across a dead cicada on the sidewalk walking to my parents' place from the bus stop. most of the times i've encountered adult cicadas is when they're dead, as they're hard to catch when alive, up high in a tree, despite being so noisy. this particular one is an annual cicada (Neotibicen, if i had to guess, canicularis dog-day cicada).

we left for chinatown by 11:30am, driving the camry instead because it hasn't been driven in a while and the backseat is more comfortable (more windows). typically we go to ming's market, but today we decided to try the nearby c-mart, formerly 88.

even for a monday it was pretty packed, and just trying to find a parking spot in the small lot was a nightmare, as more than half a dozen cars crowded into the tiny space waiting for people to leave.

we left around 12:45pm, stopping at the cafe first to drop off the supplies. my mother didn't believe it would rain because the weather this morning was so nice, but by the time we left for belmont it started to rain a bit, only to stop a short time later. i had some ying-er soup and scallion pancakes (my lunch) before going into the backyard to do a survey.

flower:

lotuses:

cucurbits:

squash bees:

rodent control:

the holes underneath the eastern fence i patched up with large rocks yesterday had been dug up already. can't really say if it was a rabbit or a woodchuck, and we didn't really notice any new damages on our plants. regardless, i blocked the holes again, this time with larger rocks. if i had to guess, i'd say it was the woodchuck again, because it was able to toss golfball-sized rocks with ease. if they continue to dig underneath the fence, we'll have to put down some chicken wire fencing. back in the kitchen, we caught a mouse with the zapper. the scary thing was it happened during the daytime, and we never see mouse activity during the day. i'd checked just an hour ago and there was nothing, but when i took a look again, the green light was blinking, meaning it had caught a mouse. i buried in by the southern fence near the morning glory vines. the good thing about the zapper is it's a quick and clean death (unlike poison or snap traps), and the dead mouse can be used as backyard fertilizer as i slowly convert the yard into a vermin cemetery.

nightshades (Solanaceae):

herbs:

my father gave me a ride home after 7pm. it still wasn't raining yet, and the new forecast said sometime after 8pm would be when the rain would begin. had i known, i could've rode the bike to belmont instead of taking the bus and getting a ride back. it was hot and humid inside the house and the first thing i did was to open the window and put in the fan. i accidentally snapped my nail on something and must've lifted the nail from the nail bed because it was bleeding underneath. annie was home, in her bedroom with her co-opted fan even though i told her she had 2 other fans in the closet (her stuff is piled so high in the room, it's difficult to get inside the closet, i could see why she never bothered). she came around 4pm, and i asked her about yale. she said it was pretty good, but didn't go into any details. i asked about the weather, she said it was very hot on saturday, a bit better on sunday. that was the extent of our conversation for the evening.